Now or Never
by mirai aria
Summary: Wolfram gave Yuuri time and reasoned against the doubts that threatened to destroy everything with his delay. Maybe he didn't realize he could actually break the engagement, as opposed to living with it. Or maybe he really wanted it. It's now or never.
1. breakdown

Disclaimer: (It's been a while since I did one of these disclaimers, hasn't it?) **Kyou Kara Maou** does not belong to me, not its characters, or its plot, or that hot blonde (mostly-hated) bishie I like to call Adelpoo. I wrote this for fun and for fun alone – I definitely am not making a profit out of this (unless you count out some for of... happiness derived from torturing these boys). So yeah, happiness...!

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**Now or Never**  
Breakdown

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There was a limit to what everyone could take and thus an end to everything. Wolfram von Biefield, third child to one infamous Cecilie von Spitzberg and then fiancé to the country's current King, contemplated about this sentence very darkly as he stood beside a window overlooking the palace's frontal grounds and followed, very intently with his eyes, one black-clad figure as he scaled the palace grounds towards a certain patrol that had just arrived.

Wolfram had no claim to being the most tactful out of his brothers, by all rights, that title belonged to Gwendal, but he had been taught, both by his tutors and experience itself, how to be so and knew when to hold down his emotions. Still, the sight of the country's young King scrambling clumsily towards that group of arriving soldiers, lead by none other than his _charming_ older half-human brother, like any other ordinary village girl would sparked a curious sense of jealousy in him and he was livid. He pressed his lips into a thin line and folded his arms crossly, grimly hoping his half brother, or better yet his fiancé, would catch a glimpse of his less-than-amused form overhead but his half-brother, Conrad, simply dismounted from his horse to indulge his fiancé with yet another one of his warm hugs.

He could almost _hear_ their voices and _feel_ the air of familiarity surrounding the two and it unnerved him greatly, making him bite down into his lower lip unconsciously as the silent anger continued to eat at his patience.

With a huff, he spun around and unfolded his arms in one movement before heading towards the library.

It had to end somewhere.

ooo  
ooo

Unrest was on the rise along side the kingdom's borders, with spies being deployed by enemy kingdoms to whet the hapless _human_s' discontent along the border. It was a growing problem, a small one but one that promised a minor civil war that would undoubtedly spark more problems in future should it be left to fester. Conrad voiced his concerns on the matter in the form of a cautious statement that all but brought up the fragility of the humans' trust towards the Mazoku when Gwendal had the topic broached in their monthly state meetings and without fail, Yuuri had agreed with him. Their King then proceeded to order for them to lay low for a while, to avoid complicating the situation with their human subjects, and to monitor progress along the border.

Wolfram was no believer of the notion that some problems were best left alone until things became clearer, he believed in a just form of action. He had been upset with Yuuri's decision as was Gwendal, but in reality, Wolfram was more upset of the _why_ behind his decision rather than it itself. And that incident ultimately opened Wolfram's eyes to the _harsh _reality of Conrad's relationship with Yuuri.

They did not outwardly show it but it was there, an unbreakable bond that Wolfram realized any of his efforts could _not_ contest. Wolfram had tried to ignore it since then, tried to hold his crumbling reality together with the same reason over and over. That same reason being the fact that Yuuri was engaged to him and has been for two years now. It may have been an accident, at first, but Yuuri certainly made no attempt to break it, let alone curb his less-than-discreet advances. But with his eyes he saw reality as it was and as he'd never seen it before. More and more he felt like the outsider in between the well-established relationship the two possessed.

He spent the whole of the afternoon surrounded by old and new maps of the border towns, analyzing each nook and cranny of its terrains like every captain would in an eve of a battle, deliberately ignoring his mother's request that they, the whole 'family', have a nice little afternoon tea outside, in the gardens under the nice warm sun. He shut everyone out, from the librarians and scholars whom he did a little more than persuade out the library when he entered it, to the maids and soldiers sent to fetch him and finally, little Greta who insisted he go out so she could play with 'both her daddies' outside. The idea sickened Wolfram so much and worsened his already dark mood that he suggested, spitefully and with a tinge of positively ill-meaning malice, that she play with Conrad instead – in his place since _he_ would _naturally_ do a much better job than him.

Eventually, she gave up and left her position in front of the two unmoving library doors, flanked by several of Anissina's floozies, in defeat. Wolfram tried to imagine the look of disappointment etched on the little girl's face as he sat back down on one of the unoccupied chairs in the library and immersed himself in deep thinking. He knew though that a child like her could hardly stay unhappy and would probably forget about his backslash by the time she reached the gardens. He was wrong and shortly after, he was startled by the sound of three firm knocks echoing across the spacious library.

He recognized the person on the other side of the doors easily; it _had_ to be Gwendal. Wolfram imagined the Maou persona behind Yuuri's dumb smile fancying a much stylish entrance that guaranteed he survived for no longer than twenty seconds after that knock and Conrad was known to make those firm but unobtrusive knocks followed by a good few sentences about being mean to girls. Gwendal made firm, harsh-sounding knocks that seemed to promise a shortened life span for the doors he knocked on and made people open doors for him as fast as possible before he broke them down.

With a short disappointed sigh, he rose up from his seat and calmly marched towards the doors. He opened them to a deeply frowning Gwendal who, if possible, frowned even deeper at the sight of his younger half-brother. Wolfram merely folded his arms and spoke in tone that was less-than polite;

"I suppose my dear, honorable older brother will now proceed to lecture me in saying mean things to," He paused, for dramatic impact maybe, and quietly spun around as he began walking away in slow strides from his brother. He shot back then, "…unsuspecting _cute_ little girls?"

Wolfram watched as his raven-haired brother's gaze rested on the maps haphazardly spread out on the library tables and he smiled when Gwendal quickly snapped his gaze back to his direction.

"You're still upset about Yuuri's decision." Gwendal simply stated before closing the door behind him and striding towards the table. Wolfram merely followed and arched one delicate blonde eyebrow to display his dissatisfaction.

"I am, _Aniue_." Wolfram replied curtly before seating himself into a chair and eyeing Gwendal gravely. "Deeply upset." The blonde added as an afterthought though with less conviction than his first statement. Gwendal nodded in silent agreement, running a hand through the maps to smooth its surface.

"I want you to send me there." Wolfram continued cautiously, watching his brother assess the maps intently. Gwendal made to reaction to his statement but he imagined the gears in his military genius brother's brain moving to decipher the motives behind his wish. "It doesn't matter if you send anyone with me, the less the better, I imagine. I've learnt a lot these past few years and you know that."

"And what do you plan to do there?" Gwendal stopped and though his eyes remained fixed onto the old, yellowing map, Wolfram knew he had caught his brother's attention.

"Mostly reconnaissance, you know what I have in mind, _Aniue_." Wolfram stood up and joined his brother's side, he then proceeded to explain where he surmised the root of the problem lay, trailing old mountain pathways and underground tunnels in the map as he did so and recounting old war records in the region. "—This could be where the spies are coming in, _Aniue_. There may be few, there might be a huge group all in all – but I imagine it can't be too big or we'd have noticed by now. There's also the possibility of a majutsu user amongst them."

There was a long pause as Gwendal mulled over his words but then signified an end to the silence with small sigh.

"Wolfram." He all but whispered before continuing in a much harsher tone, "And you think you can do _anything_ in that event?"

"We have a messenger birds about, communication is the least of our concerns and I can _obviously_ handle a few brawls." Wolfram folded his arms above his chest, "So yes."

Gwendal took a deep breath and then strode towards the library doors before swiftly locking them. He closed his eyes and exhaled slowly, both hands on the doorknobs, before turning around and giving Wolfram a grave look.

"You want to get away, don't you?"

Wolfram's breath hitched, visibly and he frowned. "I do, _Aniue_. I want to do _something_ about this problem."

Gwendal blinked, unfazed and obviously _not_ satisfied, before taking a few steps forward and looking his brother in the eye.

"I know what you did earlier and more importantly _why_, Wolfram." Gwendal said slowly, "She was upset, Wolfram. _Deeply_ upset. And she thinks you're angry with her." His older brother's dark eyebrows met and his eyes narrowed, "But we know you're not, don't we? You're upset about _Conrad_."

Wolfram sneered and tilted his chin upwards before folding his arms crossly across his chest. "And what if I _am_, _Aniue_?" He questioned pensively, mouthing each syllable clearly and provokingly. Gwendal made a sigh as he took steps forward to close the gap between his brother and him.

"You're only making things worse for you this way, Wolfram." Gwendal told him calmly, his voice laced with a warning of sorts. Wolfram was unimpressed and he clenched his jaw.

"So you _knew_," Wolfram stated with heavy sarcasm before hissing dangerously, "**_Aniue_**"

"If he wanted to, he would have broken the engagement," Gwendal began, "and enga—"

_"BUT HE HASN'T." _Wolfram all but yelled, effectively stopping Gwendal from continuing his sentence. He walked up to his older brother then and grabbed a fistful of the raven-haired man's uniform. "But he _hasn't_." He hissed, breath mingling with his brother's.

Gwendal was silent, eyeing him with what Wolfram could only identify as sheer pity and then, it struck Wolfram; the notion that _they_ knew more than he did. His eyes widened and he released Gwendal, backing away like a traumatized little child, drowning in shock.

"You know something, _Aniue_." Wolfram whispered, quietly and almost to himself as he backed away. "You… You…"

"_Wolfram_." Gwendal was saying or at least that was all Wolfram felt he heard. He clamped his hands on his ears.

"Just send me there, Aniue!" He screamed, "Just send me there. Take me away from here! Away from _him_ and Yuuri and.. just.. _fucking_… everyone…"

He broke into a run towards the doors and stopped with a hand short of turning the knobs.

"When I come back, I'll _guarantee_ you I'll be better and I'll have this damn thing solved too." He hissed and then turned sharply to his brother. Eyes drawn in a withering glare that pierced through his brother like knives, he whispered desperately, "Just send me away."

And then, Wolfram, Cecilie von Spitzberg's youngest son, was gone into the slowly darkening halls of the castle.

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Dinner was reasonably quiet that night with the absence of one blonde and the unusual prevalence of a somber atmosphere. Greta was silently picking at the peas on her plate with a spork, Cecilia was worrying for her 'Wolf' and Gwendal was more than usually unreasonably quiet, Yuuri imagined dark clouds hanging above the general's head. The only ones who seemed normal over dinner were Gunter, who was idly watching him and Conrad, who was the exemplar of proper dining etiquette as usual. He couldn't be sure if he was any normal than, well, the ones abnormal that night – for one, he was slightly worried about Greta's silence and even Wolfram's absence.

He decided to speak out, tentatively as he leaned forward the table, "Um…Gwendal, any idea what happened to Wolfram?" He began cautiously and then found himself completely throwing that out of the window, "He's not developed some form of PMSing or—"

Gwendal looked up and _literally_ glowered at him before resuming his eating processes. Yuuri effectively shut up after that. He was about to ask Gunter next, in hopes of a better response, – anything was a step up from the open display of hatred and annoyance – when the subject in question came through the dining room door fully dressed complete with a traveling coat on.

He swept his eyes, which looked unreasonably puff to Yuuri though it was probably the candles around the room, across the room before opening his mouth to speak.

Everyone, naturally, looked up to listen to his announcement and Yuuri noticed Greta squirm worriedly in her seat.

"I'm leaving." Wolfram announced with his usual prideful flair, making it sound just as important as 'I'm not hungy' or 'You're not having mashed potato and have half-cooked peas so I'm not eating'. It took a while for the statement to register inside Yuuri's brain but when it did, he almost fell of his seat.

_"WHAT!" _He actually blurted out and thought he was imagining things when he thought he saw those lips twitch into a self-satisfied smirk.

Celie, self-proclaimed Sexy Queen, echoed his query with a bit more tact and then added a persuasive purr of 'Wolf'. For once, Yuuri realized, Wolfram was _dead serious_.

It made Yuuri worry suddenly and it, sort of, frightened him, _even_. He'd seen Wolfram serious, yes, but he'd never actually been on the receiving end of this.

Gwendal was actually the only one who didn't look half as surprised and Gunter's eyeballs looked like they could pop out of their sockets like ping pong balls within the next minute.

"For the border town of Kuchen, Yozzak is coming with me." Wolfram continued in the same serious voice and then, without missing a beat, "I'm also breaking my engagement with Yuuri so I'm not having dinner tonight because we're leaving right now."

That didn't register very well in Yuuri's brain either, for a while all he could think of was the fact that dinner, breaking, engagement and now were used in the same very sentence.

"Goodbye, dear mother." The blonde prince said finally, and with an air of definite finality, before he was out of the dining room in an instant.

Yuuri blinked at the closed doors, stared some more, and then looked at Greta who looked like she was about to cry.

"He… broke the engagement?" was the only thing Yuuri could say dazedly before Gwendal gave Conrad a look Yuuri couldn't quite _understand_ and storming off saying something about Julia having more _tact_.

And he imagined, Julia – whoever she was- _had_ more tact because he didn't have an idea what to do.

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A/N: Fanfare! Banzai! Screw editing! I **CANNOT** edit to save my life. I enjoyed writing this. Wee to sadism and much out-of-characterness. Don't you think it's wonderful when you make these people do what you _want_ them to do? I wonder how much it would take to get Adelbert to screw Wolfram… But anyway, _joy_. Love, peace, _JOY_ – posting my stuff online scares me now. -(goes back to fangirling all over Kantarou, Haruka, Camus, and a bunch of oyaji-material seiyuus)-

PS, the whole Conrad-no-Ude arc does not happen. I don't plan on having Conrad's arm flopping about leaving a nasty mess on my brain's carpet either so yes, that does not happen, Conrad is whole and happy with his little family. And, because I can't remember and have been a bad fangirl, not watching subs like every good fangirl should, Wolfram does _not_ know about Julia… you know, _that_. But Gwendal does, and I really don't know how he got Conrad to tell him. (Yozzak should, ne?) So yeah, extreme liberties abound :-D.

(goes back to dancing about AU and OOC)-


	2. not like it seemed

Disclaimer: I still don't own **Kyou Kara Maou**, however sad the truth may be. I'd like to have come back _owning_ it but, ah, no matter how long I'm gone, I guess I can never own it. Boo! Anyway, **Kyou Kara Maou** belongs to its rightful owners, whose names escape my mind at the moment but, yes, I'm definitely not one of those lucky owners. 

A/N: I certainly took my sweet time, didn't I? But like I said, I don't leave my stuff…. I'm gonna finish them, eventually, they're just going to take a long, long while. The delay this time can be attributed to the fact that I pretty much _migrated_ and moved halfway across the world, so I was without a decent computer _and_ Internet for a good month or so, let alone time to sit down and actually finish this. But, while I feel a bit off, this fic has certainly taken a nice twist even I didn't expect it to take (I don't even think the twist is noticeable, yeah, of course it isn't, I just surprised myself). I'm afraid Yuuri's becoming a bit… _annoyingly_ canon, if anyone who's seen episodes thirty-four upwards… well, okay, not canon, just _whiny. _Wolfram and Yozzak were fun to write though, even though they are off the In-Character scale. I'll promise I'll get better, really. (Don't I always promise this!) Anyway, I hope people enjoy… though I think I'll get flamed again.. I swear, I won't have Adelbert with Wolfram so um.. you can all come out of your hiding places now : D!

PS, Oh and it still isn't edited, so bear with me :D And I feel like I just commited suicide by posting this unedited and unlooked over. Doom.

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**Now or Never  
**Not like it seemed

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The fire hissed and crackled, eagerly swallowing the small pieces of wood he tossed into it out of boredom. At night, when exhaustion finally sets into your bones after a whole day of horse riding and when sleep refuses to come at any moment there really isn't anything left to do but talk with your companions, or idle through the night til' sleep came. Yozzak didn't see the first option happening at any moment with his only companion sitting quietly beside an old tree trunk staring into the fire with the words 'do not disturb me' almost literally written all over his face and their horses both incapable of human talk. He sighed and peeled another bit of wood from the branch he was holding in his hand with his hunting knife before tossing it into the fire. It was an odd habit he'd picked up years ago, from Conrad's father no less, and it worked whenever his companions were too indisposed to entertain him with a word or two.

In the process of peeling another bit, he paused and glanced up, giving his companion a long scrutinizing look. Wolfram was eyeing the fire intently, in deep thought, he was sure. He didn't know the details behind the young prince's departure. He really hadn't had any time to ask _anything_ after being hauled straight from the stables shortly after having given his report on his latest Calerian 'expedition' (spying mission, really) back to Gwendal's office but he was sure, it was, at the very least, a _touchy _matter. And it definitely had to have concerned either Conrad or Yuuri, _or both_. That much his experience-honed intuition told him.

Wolfram's mouth dipped into a delicate frown and Yozzak noticed those gloveless fingers tightening around the knees they were wrapped about. He didn't know much about Wolfram, Conrad's younger brother preferred to stay away from his half-human older brother whenever possible and had a general hatred towards those with human heritage and Conrad rarely spoke to him about Wolfram. When he did, however, there was a sense of apprehension beneath his words, one that Yozzak easily attributed with the young Beifield's apparent negativity towards him. He decided long ago he didn't like Wolfram very much, if the minute pain on Conrad's face whenever he spoke of the golden prince was any indication of his attitude towards his very own older brother, but right now the young prince looked very much like a broken child. _Human_, as some people would put it though he was sure the young blonde would not look very kindly upon that description.

But weren't demons humans, in essence? Like humans, they had hearts and minds, two arms and two legs.

Yozzak sighed and smiled to himself – obviously, if they were going to be together for a long mission out in the edge of the country to some old, backwater village, the Shin'nou would like for them to _at least_ get along. And with his less-than bright and shining impression of his only companion, things _needed_ setting right. Briefly, he scanned the area around him in search of a suitable, preferably _thick_, piece of wood. He found it on the ground beside a tree not a few steps away from him, got up, and picked it up. He looked to see whether it was dry enough, running his fingers along its cracked bark and then, when he was sure it was dry enough to make those crackling sounds, he walked back to his spot beside the fire.

"Oi, bouya," He called to the young prince and when the prince's head shot up, he promptly threw the piece of wood towards him. Wolfram caught the piece of wood easily with both hands before giving him a frown.

_"What?" _Wolfram's voice was sharp and abrupt but Yozzak grinned before sitting back onto the ground and picking up his own piece of wood and knife. Apparently, while Wolfram could nowhere be a skilled in the art of swordsmanship like his older, half-human brother, or be gifted with the lot of natural _brute_ strength his other brother had been, he didn't get into the military with his mother's help, or way – both really weren't impossible with Wolfram apparently having inherited more than enough of his mother's physical characteristics.

"Do something, bouya, _you_ sitting there and doing _nothing_ frankly _bores_ me." Yozzak held his knife up, "Tell me you didn't forget to bring your knife, either, because if you did, I'd have to haul you back to Ketsumei and _make_ you bring it back." He resumed peeling off bits from his piece of wood before adding in quiet voice and a deep chuckle, "We wouldn't want that, would we?"

Wolfram huffed and later he heard the prince rummaging through his own pack. Yozzak paused, throwing a bit into the fire, and looked up when the sounds stopped. Wolfram was holding up a small knife and literally glaring knives at him. At that moment, he was sure his hair could go up into fire from the tips of their roots any moment.

"What exactly do you want me to do?" the prince asked darkly and Yozzak laughed. He set his knife and pieces of wood beside and folded his arms across his chest.

"Taking Gwendal's words into heart, I see?" Yozzak remarked, suddenly, and quite amusedly, reminded of the Earth Elemental's explicit order that Wolfram in no way act on his own accord without consulting him. He unfolded his arms in one quick motion and picked up his things again, "I'll show you something to do, bouya, instead of sitting there and _moping_—"

"I was _not_ moping." Wolfram quickly interjected, his glares sharpening a tad. Yozzak shrugged and continued with a lazy grin as if Wolfram hadn't said anything. He began the slow and careful motion of peeling a layer off the piece of wood in his hand with his knife and, "You could cut tiny bits or peel off layers from that piece of wood and—" He quickly broke the piece off with his knife and then tossed it into the fire, "toss it into the fire—" he smiled when it made a cracking sound and then looked up, "just like that."

The prince rolled his eyes and sneered. "Doesn't look any better than sitting around and staring at the fire," Wolfram pointed out flatly. Yozzak shrugged again and began peeling at his piece of wood once more.

With a quiet smile, he explained, "This is harder than it looks, bouya. Takes some thought to _cleanly_ peel off from the wood so it occupies you enough."

Wolfram was silent and Yozzak repressed the urge to laugh, knowing what _that_ would do to the prideful prince. With a bait like that, he was sure the prince couldn't _not_ try it himself and moments later he was rewarded with an exasperated groan.

Yozzak only grinned. "I told you it would be hard," He said and looked up, only to find the blonde working with his knife against the wood, intently making sawing motions with his small knife in hopes of making a clean cut in silence.

He watched, part in awe and amusement, and then smiled before returning to his own devices.

ooo  
ooo

Wolfram sneezed and threw the man hovering over him a withering glare before slapping the hand rested on his shoulder away. He eyed the imposing brush in front of his nose imposingly and growled, finding it hard to find the right words to say about the _thing_ in front of him without embarrassing himself to the darkest pit of hell.

"What," he grounded out with some difficulty, "does a despicable brush have to do with my face? Let alone… alone…"

"The make-up?" Yozzak supplied cheerfully, much too cheerfully for Wolfram's taste, as he brushed some more bronze onto the prince's face, making him sneeze and cough uncontrollably some more. After gather his composure, Wolfram snorted and finally had the mind to grab the hand with the despicable brush before _screaming_. "YES, THE MAKE UP!" He stood up and grabbed a fistful of the dress the orange-haired demon had somehow managed to _convince _him to don. "THE DRESS," he pointed accusingly at the brush on the demon's hand as if it was evil incarnate… in the form of a brush, "THE BRUSH. WHAT ARE THEY DOING TO ME!"

"What are they doing _on_ you, you mean?" Yozzak laughed and sat down on a nearby rock, grinning as he folded his arms over his shoulder. Wolfram turned visibly redder, making the orange-haired spy laugh some more as he extended an arm and used his thumb to eye Wolfram like one would to a piece of art. "It's called a…" he paused just as Wolfram began making low growls, "…disguise."

"I'm pretty sure I can have a better disguise than this!" The golden-haired prince looked down disdainfully on the dress he was wearing and 'ugh'ed, "You could've just asked! I can be a sweet little messenger boy!" He paused and placed his arms on his hips and frowned, "I've done it many times too before!"

Yozzak shook his head and rubbed his chin, "I've heard about that, all resulted in a couple of houses burning, too, hn? Bouya?"

Impossible as it was, Wolfram turned redder, like tomato red. It was a picture Yozzak couldn't quite NOT laugh at. And when he did, he found himself subject to most positively murderous glare he had encountered, which, quite honestly, flattered him more than it unnerved him.

Wolfram took a deep breath and quietly pointed at him. "I don't see you making any attempt at a disguise, you know?"

"Ohohoho," Yozzak deliberately made himself sound like an old man there. He leaned forward and winked at Wolfram, "Because I haven't gotten ready yet, see? And I just need one finishing touch for you _then_ I'll work on _my_ disguise. We can't have the lovely little blonde girl be without her big, burly, and absolutely handsome _mother_, can't we?"

Wolfram froze at the implications behind Yozzak's words and sat back on a rock, wide-eyed and wary as Yozzak rummaged into his pack once more. Moments later he produced a small black tube, one which Wolfram, in his years of living with his infamous mother, could _never_ mistake for anything else. He briefly wondered what else Yozzak had inside his pack but decided against asking, knowing how it would probably do him no good.

"What are you doing with….that?" His voice dipped into a soft whisper at the last word and frowned as the orange-haired demon confirmed his assumptions by removing the tube's lid and revealing bright red stick of rouge. Wolfram heard a distant agonized scream at the back of his mind as Yozzak looked took hold of his chin and smiled down at him.

"This won't hurt, bouya." Yozzak reassured him as he struggled, futily, under the older, bigger man's grasp.

"Of course it's not going to hurt! It's _lipstick!_" _What_ was he saying? He quickly added, "What in the name of Shin'nou are _you _doing!"

Yozzak shrugged and replied nonchalantly, "Applying rouge on your lips—" The cold, sticky substance came into contact with his lips and Wolfram all but screamed, or tried to do so in his state, anyway.

_"WHAT!"_

"Careful now, bouya, even humans don't like clowns very much." The older demon's lips turned upwards, "And a certain _Maou_ wouldn't like you looking like a clown, now."

The offhand comment made Wolfram stop squirming long enough for Yozzak to apply the rouge on the boy's lips and when he was done he let go of the boy's chin with a triumphant grin. "Ah there, better now, bouya – all you need to do is even it a bit, though even if you didn't, it wouldn't mind—"

"You cheated!" Wolfram screeched and immediately lunged at him. Yozzak laughed as he dodged the boy with ease and the Biefield prince found himself stumbling forward towards the hard ground.

"Oh come on, bouya, surely you can do better than that? Besides, " Yozzak placed his hands on his hips and shook his head disapprovingly at the prince, "If you mess your make up, we'll have to do it over again and you'd rather go into town naked than that, right?"

Wolfram took a deep breath, again, and internally began counting to ten, before standing up from the ground and dusting his dress. He threw Yozzak a dark glare and huffed. "I'll… trust you on this one… then...," he said grudgingly, "this is… for… the.. mission."

"Right, that's the spirit, bouya!" Yozzak gave him a thumbs up and grinned, "You're going to be little Mary Jane—"

"_Mary Jane!"_

"—and I'm your darling big momma from one of the bigger cities." Yozzak sighed and began wagging a finger at him, "Oh but when your darling dear poppa died, bouya—I mean, Mary-dear, your momma decided to take you to quiet little Kuchen." Yozzak's voice dipped and he continued quickly, "Act like a naïve girl in search of true love and you'll win any young man or old geezer's heart, and mouth."

"I don't like how that mouth part sounds." Wolfram stated bluntly and Yozzak grinned.

"You had _something else_ in mind?"

At this, Wolfram blushed to the tips of his hair and turned away. He pushed the lustful and, somehow, spiteful thoughts that had come into his mind at the mention of that phrase – whatever better way to spite Yuuri than to show him what he's let go? "What? I just didn't like how it sounded." Wolfram pouted and heard the older demon laugh behind him.

"This is espionage, bouya. I have to tell you; in this field, _anything_ goes. Cross dressing irked me too a bit before, but throwing your dignity away in exchange for your life is a _very _good deal." Wolfram turned around slowly and Yozzak gave the kid a wink. "Besides, who's going to suspect a pretty young girl and her less than attractive mother?"

Wolfram imagined Yozzak in the attire and an image of a…. less-than-alluring, big-breasted, burly woman from a not-so-distant memory came into his mind. He suddenly decided it was best not to comment on it.

Yozzak smiled, satisfied by the look on the younger demon's face. "Just remember, be quiet, humble, and naïve. I'll discourage using the next sharp thing to gut the things that offends you but am positively encouraging the use of pink, near-see-through night gowns, so long as you wear the right things underneath… this isn't Shinma anymore, see?"

Wolfram nodded slowly, taking in Yozzak's words and paused at the mention of pink nightgowns. He stared at Yozzak, who promptly disappeared behind a bush (with his 'materials', no doubt), with wide disbelief-filled eyes.

That was private!

ooo  
ooo

Yuuri frowned as he watched the world behind his crystal clear glass of water, idly watching the bubbles dance around the liquid and deform the vision before him. The door opened behind him, followed by the soft, gentle and unmistakable footsteps that belonged to Conrad. Still, Yuuri remained seated on his place before his window and the glass of water set on it.

"It's… quiet without Wolfram around." Yuuri murmured quietly, sounding disinterested though something in his voice betrayed him.

"My little brother is bit loud now, isn't it?" Conrad said softly as he came up behind the young King and placed a hand on the young man's shoulder in a gesture of reassurance, maybe even support.

"It's not that he's loud, really... I don't think he was ever loud," Yuuri mouthed and idly dipped his fingers into the water, "He just had a bad habit of calling me wimp… but that wasn't so bad." A small smile crept across the dark-haired King's lips. He lifted his head up and looked up at Conrad, "You get used to the name calling when you've practically grown up with it. It becomes… a bit… endearing too, I suppose." He paused and laughed softly, "My mother used to call me 'my little demon' all the time, along with a lot of cutesy names, and she didn't stop doing it until I was in third grade when I seriously got bullied for it but… well," he grinned widely, "Looking back, I kinda liked it."

Conrad's grip on his shoulder tightened and Yuuri returned to his earlier position. A delicate frown creased his features.

"I've been thinking Conrad, about what I've done to make Wolfram… well, mad." Yuuri said quietly and sighed before knocking on his head lightly with his hand as if to imply a failure in his brain's part. "I keep thinking; is it because I pushed him off the bed last night? Or I kicked him off the bed the other morning?"

Conrad was nodding quietly behind him and he continued, "I mean, I _didn't_ mean tearing at his pink nightgown or maybe disappearing on him while we were bathing together last week – I don't have a lot of control on these world transportation things."

He frowned deeper and turned to Conrad again, "I don't even fight him back whenever he calls me wimp so that can't be it."

"I don't even know why I'm so bothered about it but…" Yuuri paused looked down, "I keep thinking if I find out what I've done wrong then I can stop it from happening next time. Which is ironic because I don't even know if there's a next time and what's happening right now."

"Is his highness troubled about the engagement being called off?" Conrad asked quietly, kneeling down on one knee to be on the same eye level with the young King.

Yuuri thought for a while and decided that he wasn't particularly bothered by that. "…No." He said slowly and wasn't sure why the answer didn't come so quickly. "I mean _he_ didn't want it either to begin with – who wants to be with a boy anyway?" The look on Conrad's face made him knit his eyebrows, "It was accidental, Conrad, you know, you saw it!" Yuuri added defensively, "I didn't know anything about the customs here then—"

He paused and then looked away, realization hitting him.

"Conrad, he was waiting for me to break it all along." Yuuri whispered quietly, "That was it, wasn't it?"

Conrad said nothing and instead rose up. Yuuri quickly grabbed the brunette by his clothes, "That's part of the customs, isn't it? It's more fashionable if the one who initiated the engagement broke it, right?"

"Yuuri." Conrad managed to say before Yuuri hung his head.

"Uwah, I figured out why he left." Yuuri declared dully. "Because I'm dumb—"

"Yuuri…" Conrad said again and knelt down once more, this time placing both his hands on the young king's shoulders. "There are no such rules in this world. The same things go about here regarding engagements. There is no fashionable way of breaking engagements. You're not... not at wrong here. Not entirely."

"Not entirely," Yuuri frowned, meeting Conrad's gaze and looking unconvinced. He sighed and held onto Conrad's hands before resting his head onto the older man's chest.

"If only you had all the answers, Conrad." Yuuri muttered dejectedly, "Then things wouldn't be so hard. But, ahh… I always… _always_ rely on you too much, don't I?"

Conrad sighed and nodded, moving a hand from Yuuri's hold to run it through the boy's head.

"Yes, yes you do, your highness." He replied and briefly spun his head to the direction of the door at the minute sound of footsteps.

"What is it, Conrad?" Yuuri asked quietly, moving away from the older man and Conrad shook his head with a gentle smile.

"It's nothing." Conrad assured his young King though he knew, without a doubt, what or _who_ that had been.

A soft, defeated sigh escaped his lips as he let go of his King and excused himself, telling the young King he had matters to attend to. Of what, he did not tell, but deep down, he knew his older brother was waiting for him at the end of the hallway.

-oooo-  
-ooo-  
-o-

A/N: I'd like some helpful comments now, really, I feel like I really need it because my writing has terribly rusted. Must be because all I've been reading really are fanfics, scanlated manga and Chinese mangas – not a good combination. I did borrow a few books from the library here! Haha! **The Silmarillion** here I come; do you sniff a **Lord of the Rings** fan now? T-T Anyway, enough babble; I thank all who reviewed even though this fic really did look like one of those doomed unfinished one-chapter fics. I really did think about that happening… okay, so no. I wasn't dead, really, just… lazy to write stuff down. I don't know if I'll be any faster with my fics now, I'm not sure, but I hope I can get enough time (and privacy) to sit down and write them. Anyway, love to everyone, and yey! I can now reply to reviews! Squee!

pinkishy-baobao – I'm not particularly fond of ConradxYuuri myself, but you have to be in serious denial not to notice at least a one-sided thing from Conrad's part. Okay, sorry about that comment, but admittedly, I'm really not fond of ConradxYuuri myself; as in it can get to my nerves seriously. But as someone who likes exploring different things, I do try to get out of the usual pairings sometimes.. be more open-minded, because I know how it feels to be beaten down by FACTS by a hardcore ConradxYuuri fangirl and, really, you'll think twice about bashing ConradxYuuri once you hear a hardcore fangirl show you the facts. I know I did .-. The truth can be painful. I love you though! Because you're hardcore Yuuram fangirl and I love Yuuram fangirls!

Gothgrrl – Thank you for the critique! I didn't notice that even after showing the fic to a hardcore Wolfram-lover-friend of mine (she did point out the right spelling for _Aniue_ though). Have to change it while I upload this… like after… And I don't like having people edit my stuff, well, mostly because it can take a long while and I can be seriously impatient as a result of long periods of no-production, it's natural I want my stuff up there as soon as possible. I'm a bit stubborn too but… ahh, It would be cool to have an editor! Now that I'm on a different timezone, stuff should work differently and not half-a-day and days-like. And I think my muses liked your move, look at the glowing YozzakxWolfram interaction… okay, so not really but it's there and it's scary because Yozzak is… suave behind his eccentric fetishes…..

shakes kinder pinguy – I think by now you've forgotten about it though because I just know half a dozen fics like this and better than this have already popped out. Ahh, still, thank you! Conrad was wonderful in the first half of the series though, it's just when a certain arc comes along that… grr. He's been better though, especially in the 40s…. Say it though, he was cuter when he had more hair. And he had more hair when he was younger :D!

clueless nu – Of course, of course! Wolfram loves Yuuri! Though, just how much does he? We never know if it's his pride alone.. lol, forget that, I was misleading you. :D!

Chakura – I know you're not alone XD (cries about ConYuu)

siberian-emerald – Very flattered I am. Thank you :D Although I know my work's far from one of the best.. but ah, I'm afraid I didn't get to update ASAP… I hope this is still fine though and that you liked how it went :D!

Guren – I'm glad you like it then. You should watch KKM when you get the chance to though:O!

Mata – Am very flattered now that I can render people speechless (textless?). I hope this was up to par with the first one… eep!

Rubiel – I'm not sure either, Wolfram probably has some inner, hidden charisma… T-T Thank you for the review!

ILLK – Sporks are love. I hope this was… okay... even though I took forever. XD Thanks for the review and I hope you stick awhile .-.

Kloudy Reignfall – I like making cliffies though, so bad me? XD Though admittedly, yes, Cliffies are evil. So here's my update, I hope you haven't lost interest! I hope you likeeey‾!

RoninsOath – Yes, the engagement's off. Sorry… But here's the continuation.. I hope things look… brighter? I hope you've been waiting because here's the new chappy… why do I have to take forever all the time D?

KittyBlue – Glompieness for you! I finished it in a day! I hope this works out well and it's just fine and dandy… I wonder when I'll get to finish the next chapter. Dumbadumbadum. Wubbles to you, Kyatt-chan, and thanks for reading the draft I had for this chapter! You were a big help :D!


	3. a rift between brothers

Disclaimer: No, no, **Kyou Kara Maou** still doesn't belong to me. I'm not getting any money for this and I want Wolfram in a dress; a real one. Fanart please? X3

A/N: It lives! It's not dead! It's just terribly OOC at the moment and Yozzak is seriously, seriously learning how to annoy masterfully from Kakashi. I had a brilliant idea though; how about writing a sweet little YozzakxConrad fic sometime? Hrm. A one-shot. Or a series. Where Conrad is uke just to spite his perfectness…. –insert major squee-age here-. Well, I tried. (Has anyone read that wonderful web comic?) Here be the third chapter and I'm _hoping_ it's good :D! –goes to run to make a ShiniNana lemon now for her mistress— I seriously need to edit this more…

I want reviews ;-;

And much thanks to **KittyBlue**, **r.mai**, **RoninsOath**, **siberian-emerald**, **CharmedReality**, **Anime Writer2**, **Joan Mistress of Magic**, **Kymaera**, **hyperactivatoragain**, **sharp23**, **Cyndi1** for taking the time to review! Squee! Reviews make me happy – and I've been working on editing. I _hope_ it's getting better… As for the Yuuri-angst? Well, I have some in mind though the fic has seriously left my original idea for it. It was _supposed_ to be a lot more darker and mind-screwy but… Woflram and Yozzak wouldn't let me go evil-to-the-maxwith Yuuri… Ah well… there will be other chances…

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-oooo-

**Now or Never  
**A Rift Between Brothers

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-o-

Heavy footsteps echoed across the castle's empty halls, followed by the sound of shuffling clothes and a dull thud. There was a brief moment of silence followed by a small cry as Gwendal forcefully shoved his younger half-brother against the wall. Conrad's sword fell to the ground with a loud clatter as he slowly slid down towards floor. The walls watched on in muted curiosity and the shadows whispered amongst themselves eagerly. Gwendal roughly picked him up by his dusty brown collar and pinned him forcibly against the wall.

"I'd expected so much more from you," Gwendal ground out, disgust marring his features barely visible in the dark. Conrad hung his head and said nothing. Gwendal watched, waiting for any form of response. He decided he would be getting none and pushed Conrad harder against the wall.

Crickets chirped and the shadows edged closer.

"I didn't say anything then," the Earth Elemental's voice was grim, laced with guilt. The implication behind his words was sorely unmistakable. Still, Conrad said nothing.

"Julia knew her place." Gwendal paused and took a deep breath. "You _knew_ your place. And I'm sure you know where you stand now but one thing is _sorely_ different." He shook the brunette half-demon by the shoulder and his raised his voice as he spoke, underlining his words with urgency.

"Yuuri is **_no_** Julia."

There was silence as the words sank down; at least Gwendal hoped Conrad was digesting what he had just said. He relinquished his hold on the brunette and stepped back, his boots thudding loudly against the stone floor.

"He doesn't know what to do in this…" he paused and frowned, searching for the right word to describe the situation, "this game you played with Julia and unless you—" he subjected Conrad to a pointed, accusing glare, "—make your position clear he _will_ give himself to you."

"Yuuri holds Wolfram dear to him, _Gwendal_." Conrad said suddenly, his voice dipping into a dangerous tone at the mention of his half-brother's name. He met the Earth Elemental's stare with calm, yet equally imposing, brown eyes. Unlike Wolfram, Conrad addressed his older half-brother by his name, or rank if duty calls it, never an honorific to denote their familial status. Though they had the same mother, he was part human and for this they did not acknowledge him as family. Gwendal merely closed his eyes and folded his arms. His eyebrows met as he frowned deeply, lines marring his face.

"He may do so and then may feel more, _Conrad_, but he trusts your judgment too much to see that on his own." Gwendal said under his breath. Conrad smiled and Gwendal easily read the sarcasm behind his half-brother's carefully narrowed eyes.

"And you mean for me to relinquish my influence on him? _Gwendal?_"

"I mean for you to stop acting like you're being _victimized_ always!" Gwendal yelled angrily and the ground beneath them seemed to grumble and shake for a few short moments. He stopped and took a deep, calming breath. He knew it would do no good to argue in blind rage.

Conrad stared at him, seemingly unfazed. Gwendal, however, was adept at this kind of warfare. This was his battleground when he was not out there leading his soldiers into battle. He knew a chink in someone's armor, a _weakness_, when he saw one.

And he saw that wariness within Conrad's brown eyes, the undeniable guilt that was so small yet _there_. Gwendal had his opening. Conrad's poker face was not perfect.

"Conrad," Gwendal said quietly, careful to keep his voice level as he turned his gaze away from the half-demon. "Julia loved you," It was a truth Gwendal could not deny, even if it meant admitting his brother had the short end of the stick, "But she knew her place, Conrad. Knew her duty. She decided she couldn't return your feelings – couldn't, Conrad. _Couldn't_, even if she loved you. And whatever platonic love she held for you stayed that way." Gwendal pressed his lips together in disdain. "And as is apparent, her soul retains some of those feelings but Conrad…" Gwendal took a deep breath and sighed heavily, "_know your place_."

"And you can honestly say you are not overstepping your boundaries by intervening in this, Gwendal ?" Conrad said in a quiet voice, "Wolfram…" he paused and seemed to frown, "would not like you threatening people to give him what he wants." His voice was quiet, tinged with a hint of thoughtfulness, and he stopped and looked Gwendal in the eye, his gaze cold and hard, almost predatory. The look confused Gwendal momentarily, as if he was suddenly transported into the past, back to those war-plagued years. Those eyes belonged to those who fought in that war and survived on the brink of death, mentally and emotionally scarred with wounds that may never heal.

"You know Wolfram better than that." Conrad's eyes narrowed and then he bowed his head down in silence and stepped away from Gwendal, heading towards one end of the hallway and away from his half-brother in silence.

Gwendal frowned and watched his half-brother walk away until his eyes could no longer follow him in the shadows. To say he and his half-human brother got along well would be to flat out lie and mayhap he was being unfair. But he knew who mattered more to him and it most definitely was _not_ Conrad.

"Julia loved Adelbert." The words were intended for Conrad. "But she loved you more, even if it was never romantically." Gwendal admitted and wondered if Conrad ever knew that. One thing was sure, however, Yuuri was too young yet to determine the difference between platonic and romantic love.

And what was he doing interfering? Conrad's words came back to him with a vengeance and he merely closed his eyes in acknowledgement. It was a difficult situation but his brother's heart was at stake here.

He took a deep breath and folded his arms across his chest. Then he turned around and glanced back at the direction Conrad disappeared into before shaking his head disapprovingly.

Whatever the Shin'nou had in mind by letting the Maou unwittingly stick into a long engagement neither of the ones involved were particularly keen on, he hoped it would at least end in peaceful terms. Julia's demise led to the kingdom gaining yet another enemy with a grudge, he did not want that to happen to Wolfram. Not ever. Scorned fiancé, or not.

ooo  
ooo

Kuchen was a relatively peaceful small town with a population that barely reached a thousand and small houses and buildings made of wood and stone clumped together, forming a very tight-knit chain of residential and business units. Its denizens looked particularly peaceful, buzzing about in the early morning passing 'Good Mornings' and greetings while carrying about their early-morning duties. Wolfram thought it was odd that the actual town would look much different than the picture the reports delivered on Gwendal's desk painted. As it was, he could frame the image before him and pass it off as the picture of a town gleaning and thriving under its rulers' dedication. Then again, he knew as a seasoned solder – and he _was_ one – he shouldn't take things at face value.

"Over here," he heard Yozzak say from beside him in a strange, womanly voice. It was passable, but it made Wolfram shudder involuntarily. Yozzak was more utterly amused by his involuntary reaction than hurt though and the older half-mazoku winked at him before linking their arms together and leading him to an Inn.

Once inside, Yozzak wasted no time with his act and immediately made his way to the reception to book a room for a 'travelling mother and daughter', all along eagerly spilling details of their non-existent domestic life like any plump, middle-aged widow would at any given chance. Wolfram had to grin, seeing the strain and apparent discomfort of the middle-aged innkeeper at the reception and silently gave Yozzak his complete and uttermost approval.

"Here's your key… madam." The innkeeper coughed and cleared his throat. He moved away then and turned around, becoming suddenly enamored by the tens of shiny silver-coated keys hanging on the wall beside him. Wolfram had to suppress a laugh as he walked towards his 'mother', hands clasped together to his front. He used the graceful, virgin walk Yozzak had spent an hour and a half drilling into his male aristocratic brain the night before. He could almost see Gwendal's red face as he suppressed laughter.

"Hey pretty—" someone drawled out from behind him and he jumped, feeling the rough hand groping him from behind. He spun around, features twisted into a frown but before he could grasp at the carefully hidden knife in his bodice (yes, bodice), Yozzak came between him and the man. The half-mazoku smiled sweetly while one of his hands grasped the young blonde's, preventing it from drawing the deadly weapon.

"My, my, Mary Jane, you're already garnering a man's attention!" Yozzak said in a high-pitched voice that made Wolfram wince slightly. He promptly relaxed and tried to play the part of an outraged, yet naïve, country girl. He hoped the man was buying it because he looked more suspicious than outraged.

Wolfram could almost feel the tension hanging in the air and hoped Yozzak could salvage the situation. Then the older, half-mazoku did it, gathering the man in his arms and letting his 'breasts' press against the other's generously before planting a resounding kiss on the man's cheek. Wolfram's eyes bulged and he promptly looked away, disgusted and embarrassed at the same time.

"And that is what this clumsy daughter of mine can't give you yet!" Yozzak promptly declared with a light laugh before spinning the man around and playfully patting him on his rear. The man gaped for a while in silent shock and then laughed, returning the wink at Yozzak – an action that made Wolfram wonder about the man's standards for beauty.

Yozzak was quick to act after that; winking at the gawking innkeeper first before quickly heading towards the rooms. He half-dragged a surprised willowy blonde girl that was Wolfram with him. When they were safe on the other side of the door, he locked and bolted it.

He sat himself one of the beds and then breathed out. "That was close, bouya," the half-mazoku said, running a hand through his hair. Wolfram agreed and nodded eagerly before sitting on the other bed. Yozzak smiled at him and Wolfram eased, realizing Yozzak wasn't angry. If he _was_ angry, he doing a damn good job at being calm about it.

"Next time just play along," Yozzak said finally, grinning lopsidedly before standing up. He gave the blonde a light pan on the head and winked when the blonde looked up. "I'll make sure to keep your cherry safe for your future _husband_." Another wink and Wolfram's face flushed, turning into the color of a bright red tomato.

Yozzak laughed, or rather, guffawed at him.

He glared at the cross dressing half-mazoku in front of him. It was sad. All Wolfram could think of in retaliation was the word 'dyke' and he doubted _that_ would insult Yozzak. Not when kissing, hugging and sending lustful winks to members of the same sex was norm in his line of work.

Wolfram suddenly felt like sporking _someone_ into an untimely death.

ooo  
ooo

They spent the afternoon going around town together, asking things like where to buy the cheapest fish and which gossip circles had the juiciest gossips around. Whenever anyone asked about why they were in town Yozzak, with a gleeful laugh and a wide grin, would tell them they were looking to settle down. They were looking to own a small house with a small vegetable garden, he told a poor watermelon vendor at one time. Wolfram thought it was amusing and pitiful to watch at the same time. Yozzak was a skilled liar.

By the end of the day, they came back to the Inn tired –both mentally and physically—a few gold coins poorer and with a name that they were sure was a lead but was nothing more than that; a name. Wolfram plopped himself on his bed with a loud sigh. He stared up at the lamp hanging at the center of the ceiling before taking a fistful of his wig and yanking at it to remove it. Yozzak, who had just finished dutifully locking and bolting their door, headed towards the windows. He closed the curtains tight, making sure they had their much-needed privacy. It would do no good at all if somebody saw lovely little Mary Jane without her beautiful golden _tresses_. Yozzak grinned, terribly amused by the sight of Wolfram languishing pitifully on the bed.

"All we have is a _name_!" Wolfram growled angrily, throwing the wig at one grinning Yozzak. He hoped it would hit the half-mazoku flat on the face but, alas, the older mazoku had fast reflexes. Wolfram frowned, sat up and collapsed back onto the bed again. His legs were killing him! He was used to long, easy strides – quick and swift movements. But Yozzak had insisted he keep up with 'the walk' and his act. It made for one long and tiring day between questioning random townsfolk and Yozzak constantly elbowing him in reminder. To make matters worse, this was just the beginning and he knew they were just 'testing the waters' for now, so to speak.

"Tired already, _bouya_? After just one day?" Yozzak inquired with a lopsided grin as he leaned against the wall, by the window. He threw the wig back. The blonde prince sat up (fully this time) and glared at the half-mazoku, grudgingly catching the abomination with one hand before tossing it aside. He took a deep, deep breath before calmly questioning back.

"How long will _this_ take us?" Yozzak looked up, in thought, and then met his gaze back again.

"Probably a week, give or take." Yozzak ignored the twitch on the young blonde's eyebrows. It was amusing seeing the young blonde's positively irritated reaction without a full-blown frown. "We're still new, you know? Would strike them awfully odd if we started asking about this guy and what he does… especially if he's what we think he is."

"Which is?"

"An important man." Yozzak answered and winked at Wolfram who promptly returned to languishing miserably on the bed and groaning. "Ahh, the clue leads to another clue…and another—" Yozzak sang in a mocking tune making Wolfram groan some more.

"What did you expect? Swordfights and hot ladies in fishnet stockings waiting to be saved?"

Wolfram snorted but there was some truth to that, he knew. He was expecting something more tasking and involving. Was something to keep his mind away from other matters too much to ask for? He took a deep breath and blinked. He could fear the tears _trying_ to well up there in his eyes and it was one to thing to share a room with another man while changing _dresses_ and another to shed tears in front of said man. He had no plans of crying in front of anyone, not if he could help it. If only _someone_ weren't a big dumbass then he wouldn't be here languishing on a bed wearing a dress that _seriously_ made him question his… fashion sense.

"I was hoping for something more exciting…" Wolfram said with a scowl, "I shouldn't have gone…"

"Remorse is a sad thing—" Yozzak shook his head, despite only being partially sympathetic. Yozzak wasn't a firm believer of running away from your problems. He was about to say something else when his ears picked up an odd little sound. He motioned for silence, pressing an index finger to his lips while he quietly crept towards the door. Wolfram quickly placed the wig beside him back on, not taking the time to see if it was securely fastened, and then placed his hand on the hidden knife in his dress.

There were three loud bangs on the door. Wolfram quickly turned to Yozzak; the question of whether to open the door or not was clearly written on his face. Yozzak nodded and motioned for him to stay alert while he unbolted and unlocked the door.

A blur of bright red and white emerged from the door, heading straight for the windows. Yozzak let out a yelp of surprise while Wolfram instinctively stepped into its path, spreading his arms out to prevent it from getting pass him through the sides. The impact happened in mere moments with Wolfram letting out a sharp cry as all oxygen was knocked out of his lungs. He fell to the floor with a loud thud and one heavy mass of body on top of him. It made for one very uncomfortable and uncompromising position, one that, apparently, Yozzak found amusing.

"Ahh… looks like tonight's your lucky night, bouya." Yozzak whistled and then winked at the befuddled Wolfram. "I promise I won't tell," Yozzak added in a low, discreet voice while he grinned from ear to ear. The blonde mazoku blinked and watched as the older man stepped out of their room to check for other people. He looked down to the mass on top of him then. The mass, to be specific, that was preventing him from standing up and which Yozzak thought was incredibly humorous.

A pair of green eyes set on a small, round face framed by fiery red hair met his and realization came like one dumb Maou slapping him square on the right cheek. That wasn't just anyone on top of him; that was a girl – quite possibly a human one at that – on top of him, peering 'innocently' at him with a pair of damned green eyes.

Wolfram, by reflex, pushed the girl off him and edged away until he had his back against a wall. "What the--!"

"It's a girl!" Yozzak suddenly cried with sarcastic, near sadistic, glee before adding in low tone, "…Like you." Wolfram shot him a glare before picking himself off the ground and dusting off his skirt. White was _not_ his color.

Yozzak, who was enjoying the look of defeat on the blonde prince's face whenever he ignored his glares, whistled while he closed the door behind him and began the quick process of locking and bolting it.

"Who are you and what the hell are you doing here?" Wolfram demanded as the girl stood from the ground herself and began hastily smoothing and dusting her skirt.

"I'm trying to escape, thank you!" The redhead said a matter-of-factly and then turned sharply on her heels when a footsteps sounded from outside their rooms. Panic flittered across her face for a few brief moments before calm and apathy took over. Yozzak positioned himself beside the door immediately but Wolfram remained standing in his place right in front of the window, unmoving.

Wolfram stared at the girl defiantly, arms folded across his chest.

"Get out of my way! I have to go!" Urgency was clear in her voice and the footsteps became louder.

"Like I—"

"Let her go." Yozzak cut in calmly and smiled at the defiant prince. Wolfram opened his mouth in protest and then 'hmmphed', defeated. He stepped out of the way with much reluctance. The girl upon seeing the prince's course of action, gave Yozzak a humble bow and flashed them a grateful smile before quickly heading for the window and jumping down into it. Wolfram watched her form disappear into the dark streets below, deeply unsatisfied with how easily they let the girl go without asking her anything.

"With hair like that, it's going to be tough trying to stand out, you know?" Yozzak said suddenly, coming up beside him.

"We should have _made_ her stay, she probably knows something—" Wolfram argued with a frown and Yozzak shrugged. It made Wolfram wonder momentarily if all the spies in his country were made, if not taught, to be nonchalant cross-dressers.

"Like I said, with that hair, it's going to be hard to stand out—" Loud bangs started sounding from their door again, this time of much more intensity and Yozzak whistled, "And looks like the company she was expecting is right on our doorstep…"

Wolfram sighed and then began adjusting his wig with some reluctance. "Do I act like an airheaded blonde now while I flaunt my water-filled breasts?"

Yozzak grinned and began patting him on the back, "Bouya, you're learning… you're learning…"

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End file.
